Poland by Piotr Arak and Piotr Z˙Akowiecki
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Poland by Piotr Arak and Piotr Z˙akowiecki Capital: Warsaw Population: 38.5 million GNI/capita, PPP: US$22,830 Source: The data above are drawn from the World Bank’sWorld Development Indicators 2015. Nations in Transit Ratings and Averaged Scores 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 Electoral Process 1.75 2.00 2.00 2.00 1.75 1.50 1.25 1.25 1.25 1.50 Civil Society 1.25 1.50 1.25 1.50 1.50 1.50 1.50 1.50 1.50 1.50 Independent Media 1.75 2.25 2.25 2.00 2.25 2.25 2.25 2.50 2.50 2.50 National Democratic Governance 2.75 3.25 3.50 3.25 3.25 2.75 2.50 2.50 2.50 2.50 Local Democratic Governance 2.00 2.25 2.25 2.00 1.75 1.75 1.75 1.75 1.50 1.50 Judicial Framework and Independence 2.25 2.25 2.50 2.25 2.50 2.50 2.50 2.50 2.50 2.50 Corruption 3.25 3.00 3.00 2.75 3.25 3.25 3.25 3.25 3.50 3.50 Democracy Score 2.14 2.36 2.39 2.25 2.32 2.21 2.14 2.18 2.18 2.21 NOTE: The ratings reflect the consensus of Freedom House, its academic advisers, and the author(s) of this report. The opinions expressed in this report are those of the author(s). The ratings are based on a scale of 1 to 7, with 1 representing the highest level of democratic progress and 7 the lowest. The Democracy Score is an average of ratings for the categories tracked in a given year. 478 Nations in Transit 2015 Executive Summary olish democratic institutions withstood significant political turbulence in 2014, marked by two nationwide elections, an unexpected change of Pgovernment leadership, and a major wiretapping scandal. All this took place against the backdrop of violence and instability in neighboring Ukraine and rising fears that the fighting might spread. After seven years in office, Prime Minister Donald Tusk of the ruling Civic Platform (PO) party resigned in September in order to become president of the European Council. Tusk’s chosen replacement, former health minister and speaker of the lower house of parliament Ewa Kopacz, quickly launched a cabinet reshuffle, bringing some freshness to the Polish political scene. Center-right PO, in coalition with the agrarian Polish Peoples’ Party (PSL), remained the dominant force in government, while socially conservative Law and Justice (PiS) continued to lead the political opposition. A wiretapping scandal in the summer damaged PO’s reputation and fueled allegations of corruption, coming chiefly from PiS and the right-wing media. In November, technical malfunctions exacerbated by the ineffectiveness of the National Electoral Commission (PKW) caused a significant delay in the tabulation of the local election results, launching an opposition-driven debate on the strength of democracy in Poland. National Democratic Governance. The change of government that followed Prime Minister Tusk’s election to the presidency of the European Council did not destabilize the political system. However, the subsequent government reshuffle appeared to be driven by PO’s internal politics, rather than by principles of good governance. Illegal recordings of private conversations between top politicians in Warsaw restaurants discredited a large part of the political class. Poland’s national democratic governance rating remains unchanged at 2.50. Electoral Process. European Parliament and local government elections in 2014 featured low turnout and a larger-than-usual proportion of spoilt ballots. The electoral commission failed to tabulate and report the local election results in a timely manner, fueling the opposition’s accusations of electoral fraud. Although the allegations did not lead to repeat elections, they undermined the credibility of the electoral process. The antiestablishment, populist Kongres Nowej Prawicy (KNP) gained political ground during the year. As a result of problems with the administration of the 2014 elections, Poland’s electoral process rating declines from 1.25 to 1.50. Poland 479 Civil Society. A growing number of charities and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) engaged in a variety of activities in 2014, supported by a robust legal framework. A major overhaul of fundraising regulations that came into force in 2014 is expected to improve the financial situation of such organizations. While Poles are generally favorably disposed towards NGOs, their membership rates remain low. Right-wing extremist organizations have been gaining credibility and media exposure, but the major rallies held by such groups on Polish Independence Day were less violent in 2014 than in the previous year. Poland’s civil society rating remains unchanged at 1.50. Independent Media. Poland’s media landscape is well developed, providing a diverse selection of print and electronic sources of information. Most outlets display some ideological and political bias; collectively, they provide the public with complete information and serve as an important check on political power, but they often fail to do so individually. Readership of conservative weeklies is declining and they are expected to consolidate in the coming year. After the magazine Wprost published a series of secret recordings of private and sometimes compromising conversations between public officials, police and state prosecutors raided Wprost headquarters in a failed attempt to seize the recordings and force the magazine to reveal its sources. Poland’s independent media rating remains unchanged at 2.50. Local Democratic Governance. Local government elections in November reinforced the dominance of the ruling coalition at the regional level, but an information technology failure and subsequent delays in vote tabulation undermined the legitimacy of the election’s winners. At the subregional level most seats were retained by local committees. In some cities, urban activists won seats in municipal councils, although only in a few cases did they form part of a ruling coalition. The use of referendums has been growing, particularly at the local level, where they have been embraced by activists and politicians as an efficient governance tool. In Krakow, a referendum was used to determine whether or not the city should host the Winter Olympics in 2022. Poland’s local democratic governance remains unchanged at 1.50. Judicial Framework and Independence. In 2014, the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg ruled that Poland had breached international law by hosting a CIA “black site” in the early 2000s. Poland also failed to ratify the Council of Europe’s Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women. Poland’s judicial framework and independence rating remains unchanged at 2.50. Corruption. The system of institutions tasked with combating corruption in Poland is well developed and efficient but its successes are often overshadowed by major political scandals that contribute to a damaging stereotype of “everybody steals” among the general public. The government adopted a new anticorruption strategy in 2014. Poland’s corruption rating remains unchanged at 3.50. 480 Nations in Transit 2015 Outlook for 2015. Incumbent president Bronisław Komorowski’s high approval rating is expected to secure him a second term in the May 2015 elections, but the electoral campaign will provide a springboard for opposition leaders, particularly on the far right, ahead of the autumn parliamentary elections. The effectiveness of the ruling coalition in the final year of its current term seems critical for the outcome of the elections and may have consequences for the rest of the decade. If the ruling PO-PSL coalition loses its parliamentary majority in 2015, it may need to invite a third partner, most probably the left-wing Social Democracy party (SLD). Alternatively, if PiS wins the fall elections and controversial MEP Janusz Korwin- Mikke’s Congress of the New Right (KNP) enters the parliament, a new right-wing coalition could materialize. The economic situation is expected to improve in 2015, with analysts predicting 3 percent average gross domestic product (GDP) growth and a return to pre-2008-level unemployment.1 Still, the government will face pressures from trade unions to increase wages in the public sector and introduce labour market reforms, which might escalate to manifestations and strikes. As tensions in eastern Ukraine continue, related events may affect Poland’s economy. Poland 481 Main Report National Democratic Governance 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2.75 3.25 3.50 3.25 3.25 2.75 2.50 2.50 2.50 2.50 Poland’s constitution enshrines the principles of democratic government, protecting fundamental political rights and civil liberties. Polish citizens directly elect a head of state (president) and members of the country’s two national legislative bodies (the Sejm and Senat). There remains a broad consensus among political groups and citizens on democracy as the basis of Poland’s political system2 and organizations that openly contest democratic principles constitute a marginal minority. Adult citizens have a constitutionally guaranteed right to vote in national and local referenda, and policy proposals on both the national and the local level usually undergo a public consultation process before going to a vote.3 The coalition between the center-right Civic Platform (PO) and its agrarian junior partner, the Polish People’s Party (PSL), remained stable throughout 2014. The government withstood motions of no-confidence against two of its ministers in January and July and won another motion of confidence in July that reasserted the prime minister’s leadership and ended the immediate crisis. Support for PO suffered a major blow in June when the weekly newsmagazine Wprost published recordings of private discussions between several senior politicians, businesspeople, and other public figures.4 The conversations were recorded at high-end restaurants in Warsaw whose staff were apparently implicated in the eavesdropping.